The Dark Knight Falls
by Saiyan967
Summary: This is an alternate ending for the Dark Knight. It starts just after the scene where the Batman flips the semi truck and the Joker is walking down the street while begging Batman, "Come on, hit me!"


**The Dark Knight Falls**

The Joker knelt down over Batman, one of his many switchblades in his hand. He brought the blade down to the hero's throat just as he heard a shotgun click behind his head.

"Drop it, you son of a bitch," said a familiar voice.

"Tsk tsk tsk," the Joker tutted. "Do you really think that's a good idea, Commissioner?"

The criminal quickly spun away from the shotgun and threw his jacket open, revealing rows upon rows of grenades. Commissioner Gordon froze, terrified by the sheer destructive power unveiled before him. The Joker smiled, amusement dancing in his wicked, twisted eyes. In an instant, the maniac reached for a grenade, pulled the pin and tossed it to Gordon, who stared at it in horror.

Smoke began to pour out of the grenade. Gordon's mind took a moment to process what had happened. _He had been tricked_. That split second was all the Joker needed. The _click_ of a machine pistol being cocked sounded out from the smoke. The Commissioner fired blindly into the smoke, only to be rewarded with the insane laugh of a man that has truly gone mad.

"Did you really think you could kill me?" came the maniac's voice, barely more than a whisper.

Silence fell upon the street, only to be split again by a barrage of bullets from the smoke. Commissioner Gordon fell to the ground, his body riddled by bullets. Blood flowed freely from the holes in his bulletproof jacket that had failed to do anything at such close range.

The last thing the Commissioner heard as he died was the sound of Kevlar being dragged away into the night.

* * *

Bruce Wayne woke up tied to a chair, the night air cold on his skin. In a moment of shocking realization, he became aware that his cowl was nowhere to be found. Looking around, Bruce found himself in a large, open space that was probably an unfinished floor of a downtown building.

"So…Bruce Wayne, huh," came a voice from the shadows. "Can I call you Bruce? How about Brucie? I like that more."

The Joker emerged from the darkness with a different air about him than Bruce had ever seen. It was a strange mix of confusion and pure, unbridled fury.

"I only have one question for you, Brucie," said the Joker as he ambled closer to Batman, dragging a chair behind him. He swung the chair around and sat in it backwards so that he was facing Bruce. "Why the hell would you do this for them? They don't care about you. For crying out loud, most of them hate everything about you!"

"I do it to protect them from scum like you," Bruce spat back at him. "There are still good people out there."

The Joker ran a hand through his greasy hair and licked his lips. "No, there's really not. They're all just animals. Even us! The difference is that we're just bigger dogs. Stronger. Smarter than the rest." A switchblade seemed to appear in the maniac's hand. "And I'm better than you."

As Bruce opened his mouth to argue, the Joker slipped the blade inside his mouth and ripped it out through the hero's cheek. Bruce screamed in agony as pain overwhelmed his senses. Blood ran down his face in a river of red, flowing down his neck and armor, finally pooling on the floor.

"I'm better, because I'm simple," the Joker continued, unfazed by the massive pool of blood growing at his feet. "I may just be a dog chasing cars, but I finally found out what to do with one if I caught it."

He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a long knife, its handle and blade as black as the shadows around them. Engraved on the hilt was the shape of a scarlet bat, its detailed jaws open as if it were screaming.

The Joker held the knife to Bruce's throat, "It's been fun, Bats."

With those final words, the Joker slid the blade across his nemesis' throat and watched as his blood flowed freely down his armor, bathing the insignia on his chest a deep red. As he stood and stared at his enemy, his nemesis, and in a way that was almost too twisted even for him, his friend, the Joker wondered where he would ever find an adversary like that again. Turning his back on the grisly scene, he strolled quickly to the elevator. He had a District Attorney to kill.


End file.
